HONDURAS: Honduran radio journalist Alfredo Villatoro found dead in Tegucigalpa six days after being kidnapped

Record ID: 859881

  • Title: HONDURAS: Honduran radio journalist Alfredo Villatoro found dead in Tegucigalpa six days after being kidnapped
  • Date: 17th May 2012
  • Summary: TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS (MAY 16, 2012) (REUTERS) MAN SELLING NEWSPAPERS
  • Embargoed: 1st June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Honduras
  • City:
  • Country: Honduras
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2MFKDBDW56EISJZQ97E8YXUDC
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  • Story Text: A Honduran radio journalist was found dead on Tuesday (May 15) in Tegucigalpa, six days after he was kidnapped.
    Alfredo Villatoro was news director at HRN radio, one of the Central American country's most important radio stations, and for many years had been a presenter for a morning newscast.
    Villatoro was found dead from gunshot wounds and had apparently been dressed in the uniform of an elite police unit. When he was kidnapped on May 9, he was wearing civilian clothes, local media reported.
    Police spokesman Hector Ivan Mejia said that the murder was meant to send a message in Honduras.
    "This is a message to all Honduran people. This is a message to the journalistic profession, at a professional level, all the way down to the most humble Honduran. This tells us that the criminals that did this aren't afraid of anything or anyone."
    Villatoro is the latest Honduran journalist to be slain in the Central American country.
    Last week, a Honduran journalist and gay rights activist was found murdered near the side of a road outside Tegucigalpa.
    "We have to keep informing, even at the risk of our lives, because it is our job. Simply put, its an elevation to the maximum level of impunity in the country," said journalist Cesar Silva.
    Local media reported that 32-year-old Erick Alex Martinez Avila had been strangled.
    "There is no security for the press. This is a clear message, to the authorities and to national and international journalists, as well as to the government of Porfirio Lobo," said reporter Leonel Espinoza.
    Once a treasured hub for U.S. geopolitical interests in Central America, Honduras is better known today as one of the world's most murderous country.
    On Wednesday, President Lobo said that Honduras would eventually be victorious in its fight against criminal groups that operate in the country.
    "Democracy, justice, the Honduran people, and the legitimate authorities will prevail over crime and criminals," he said.
    Rampant lawlessness, poverty and a crumbling justice system has left the coffee-exporting nation of some 8 million people battered by ultra-violent gangs and drug cartels.
    Journalists have also been frequent targets. A Honduran press group, The Committee for Free Expression, says that at least 22 journalists have become the victims of violence since 2010, making it one of the world's most dangerous place for reporters.
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